Your article: Centre’s makeover is near completion

James Duffy

The project is expected to cost £540,000, which includes a substantial contingency fund.

This will be a seating area.

The redevelopment has improved access and security throughout the building, added a spacious open plan foyer, additional office space, meeting room facilities for external hire and a intimate second cinema screen dedicated to specialist film (foreign language, documentary and shorts) and live broadcasts. The extended foyer has been reimagined to reflect the ways the community and wider audience engage with the space. New seating areas have been incorporated into several areas of the building, with a new café and bar area on the first floor which will offer freshly-made deli snacks from the best of local Yorkshire suppliers.

The venue’s manager Janet Farmer said: “The redevelopment supports the venue’s work in all its wonderful diversity and brings the flexibility essential to a truly sustainable 21st century organisation that will continue to grow and evolve. This project’s aim is to unlock even more of the PAC’s undoubted potential, opening the doors to a wider community with increased engagement, so that we can build the next phase of this historic Grade II listed building’s future with a sense of resilience and sustainability.”

The project has been funded by Arts Council England, Pocklington Town Council, Pocklington Arts Centre, the Friends of Pocklington Arts Centre plus generous donations through a public fundraising campaign.